Delaware employment decreased 0.3 percent over the year to 473,600 in March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.)  Employment declined 0.4 percent in New Castle County and rose 1.2 percent in Sussex County from March 2025 to March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See chart 1.) Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted that the rate of employment growth in New Castle ranked 205th and in Sussex ranked 39th among the 371 largest U.S. counties with published data.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Delaware, March 2026

County	Percent change, March 2026
New Castle	-0.4
Sussex	1.2

Employment was 303,300 in New Castle and 92,500 in Sussex in March 2026. Together these two large counties accounted for 83.6 percent of total employment in Delaware. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2025.)

The average weekly wage in New Castle increased 3.4 percent over the year (ranked 186th nationally) to $1,826 (49th). (See chart 2.) The average wage in Sussex increased 1.2 percent (339th) to $1,127 (346th). The national average was $1,654, up 3.9 percent over the year.

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Delaware, first quarter 2026

County	Percent change, first quarter 2026
New Castle	3.4
Sussex	1.2

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 3.1 percent over the year to $1,606. Delaware ranked 15th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 39th in wage growth.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the one smaller county in Delaware, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) The wage level in Kent, at $1,180, was the lowest in the state.

QCEW data for all states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

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The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.